Maye was present at the start of Thursday’s practice.
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was present for the start of practice on Thursday, where he assumed his usual position leading off quarterback drills.
Maye’s increased involvement may have been a sign of the rookie progressing through the NFL’s five stage concussion protocol. On Wednesday, Maye appeared to be in Phase 3 as he was limited to less than 30 minutes of work. He was then not spotted during the first two periods of practice open to the media, unlike on Thursday.
Drake Maye: present and accounted for to start #Patriots practice. pic.twitter.com/DIogKUHghG
— Brian Hines (@iambrianhines) October 31, 2024
With Maye present at the start of Thursday’s practice perhaps signaling a step forward, the quarterback would now be in Phase 4 which includes Club-Based Non-Contact Training Drills:
“The player-patient may continue cardiovascular conditioning, strength and balance training, team-based sport-specific exercise, and participate in non-contact football activities such as throwing, catching, running and other position-specific activities, progressing to participation in non-contact team practice activities. To be clear, all activities at this Phase remain non-contact (i.e., no contact with other players or objects, such as tackling dummies or sleds).”
Speaking on Thursday, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt was hopeful the quarterback’s progression would continue, but would not discuss the specifics on Maye’s injury
“I’m not going to discuss injured players,” Van Pelt said. “That’s my stance on that. He is in the protocol and let the training staff handle all of that. He did show up [Wednesday] in practice and did some limited things on the field and that’s about where I’ll leave it. Hopefully he’s progressing. Very hopeful that things keep going in the way they’re trending, but again, that’s not my area.”
If Maye works through Thursday’s practice with no setbacks, he may be moved on to the fifth and final phase of the protocol which features Full Football Activity/Clearance.
A club physician would then clear Maye to resume full contact football activities, where an independent neurological consultant would then clear him to participate in the next game — assuming no setbacks or symptoms occur.
As the Patriots prepare for their Week 9 matchup against the Tennessee Titans, their second injury report of the week will be released later on Thursday.